I'll Protect You
by MissyEvil
Summary: So this goes with the promo pics from 2x16. Swan Queen! This just asked to be written. ONE-SHOT.


**Heyyy okay this probably sucks but I just had to write something after those promo pics and i'm tired and stuff so it's really weird but yeah.. anyways here is the story that goes with the Swan Queen promo pics hihi. Btw there will be a new chapter of my Valentine's day story soon but i'm pretty busy right now and it's going to be a masterpiece so I don't wanna rush with writing it :)**

**Hope you enjoy, **

**xx**

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Emma, Neal, Charming and Snow were in Gold's shop. Regina and Cora could come in any moment now and they were still figuring out what to do. "So what exactly are we going to do?" Charming asked. Neal looked sideways at the prince. "We need to get that dagger before they kill my father." "And everyone else in this room." Snow added. Her gaze was straight forward and she focused on the door. She was ready for this. "Do you have the heart?" He asked her and Snow nodded again. He still wasn't sure about this, it was really a thing that Snow or Mary Margaret would do but he could see it was their only option of getting that dagger back and saving their own lives. "Who's heart is it anyways?" Emma asked, clearly not up to date. "It's Cora's." Her mother answered. "What?!" Emma said loudly and she moved to stand in front of her. "How could it be her heart?" The older woman didn't answer so Charming filled his daughter in. "Cora was the Queen of Hearts in Wonderland. She didn't need to keep her heart inside her, she would be safe without it. So she kept it hidden but with the curse the heart was, like all hearts, moved to Regina's vault. Your mother got it and now we are going to make a trade." Emma's mouth had dropped open at this point as Neal stood by her side. "Her heart for the dagger." Charming and Snow nodded while Emma just stared at them.

This wasn't anything like her parents. They were good, they were the people that saw the good in everyone else. She took that as an example, and now what?

They all moved back to their positions though, as if they sensed that the two woman were going to enter in the next couple of minutes. Emma had of coursed agreed to the whole plan of getting the dagger back, because as much as she wanted to believe that Regina wasn't actually going to kill all of them, she couldn't really trust that and she hadn't seen the woman for a while and she believed her parents when they said that Regina was truly broken and apparently her only way of dealing with that was by falling back into her old habits and trusting her mother. Snow had tried to convince her about the true meaning behind her mother's actions but it hadn't worked out. However, Emma had to admit, that even though she knew they weren't planning on actually killing someone, it could all easily get worse and then one thing she was sure about that she would never be able to kill Regina. It wasn't only the trueness of her pure heart, but also a feeling she felt for the woman. Something that she had ignored since the mine incident and she honestly thought she had lost it again but even being back in town made the feelings come back, much stronger even. Her heart ached to see the beautiful woman, but her mind was scared as hell. This all made Emma just a bit unstable and uncomfortable and she was sure the others noticed it too because Snow was watching her and Neal gently nudged her side. "Hey, you ok?" She nodded and smiled briefly at him.

Suddenly the bell rang and mother and daughter walked in. Emma felt her heart beating faster instantly, but she didn't know what exactly had caused it. The blonde tried catching the dark eyes and wasn't surprised when they didn't make contact with her for the first few minutes. Regina looked confident and fierce but when those eyes finally made contact with the soft green of Emma's, the sheriff could see the hurt lying behind the surface. Regina's eyes had lost the twinkle she had seen before she left. They were now cold and hard and Emma felt truly sorry for her. If only she had been here then she maybe could have stopped all of this.

Suddenly Cora started talking and she focused on her again. "I believe we are here to make a trade. Do you have the heart?" Snow took the little box from behind her back and showed it to the two woman. Slowly she opened it, while she kept her distance of course, and a pink beating heart was shown. Cora smiled. "Perfect." She said and she stretched her arms to take it. Snow immediately pulled it back. "Not so fast. The dagger." The older woman laughed softly and tilted her head before she motioned to her daughter. Quickly Regina handed over the knife without saying anything. "Here it is." Both woman stretched their arms but before the trade could really be made Emma jumped forward. "No! Don't do it, it's a fake!" Suddenly, everything went very fast. When she jumped forward Regina was startled and sent a fireball her way, which her father reflected back towards the brunette who fell on the ground. Cora had used her magic to get the box out of Snow's arms and in her own. Neal was now reaching for the dagger bluntly but Regina used her magic to send him flying across the room. Cora now walked towards Snow, if her daughter wasn't going to do this, then she would.

She stood in front of the woman and pushed her arms forwards, only found out that she couldn't. Her hand stopped a few inches before the woman's chest. Surprised she looked at her hand and tried again. She looked up when she heard Snow chuckling. The woman tilted her head sideways which caused her to look at Emma, who was staring directly at the both of them, clearly confused and surprised by her own actions.

"How did you do that?" Regina asked from beside her, her voice soft. Emma's eyes moved up to Regina's, her mouth was still slightly open. "I.. I don't know." She stammered. She had somehow created a field around her mother that had protected her from Cora's grasp. For a single moment everyone didn't do anything but then Gold walked in.

"Gold!" Charming said as he tried pushing the man back who was now on the ground kneeling next to his son. "We told you to stay where you were. You're weak. You can't use magic, it's dangerous when they have the Dark one." It was clear that Gold was fighting the control Cora had over him. He tried to use some magic on the cut that was on his son's head but it didn't work. "I can't use magic." He said softly before he turned to Cora. "I can't use magic because you control me!" He now screamed as he jumped forward. Things were going too fast again. Cora took control over Gold and had him easily pinned against the counter of his own shop while she raised the real dagger that had been hidden inside her coat. "Mother!" Regina screamed and she stormed towards the woman. "Stay back sweetheart." The woman responded and she raised her hand even more. "It's time that someone else takes the power from you, Rumple. And we all know what you are without power." She was silent for a second before she hissed in his ear. "A coward." She started to bring the knife down again but the scream of her daughter stopped her.

When Regina had jumped forward to stop them she had stood right in front of Emma, leaving the blonde no choice than to do this. She wasn't going to risk having everyone killed so she hoped, with her whole heart, that this was going to work. She grabbed Regina's arm and yanked her to her. The woman screamed of course which caused her mother to stop and look at them. Emma took the knife she saw on the counter next to her and held it to Regina's throat. She heard the sharp intake of breath and she actually had to hold back some of the tears that she felt forming in her eyes. She needed to seem very serious about this decision and now doubtful. If Cora would see even the slightest hint of doubt she would just go ahead and kill Gold right now.

"Stop it!" The blonde screamed. "Or I will kill your daughter." She said angrily and she felt the eyes of her parents on her. They were a little further in the back, not knowing what to do. All of the sudden Cora laughed. It sounded so evil. "Go ahead. I don't need her anymore." Even Emma was surprised by that. She hadn't expected her to react like that. She could feel Regina stop breathing for a second and the next breath she let out was very shaky. She was sure that the brunette was crying but she was also sure that she was trying to hide it. Two hands clutched onto her hand that was across Regina's chest. The woman needed her. "You would really let your own daughter die?" Snow now asked in disgust. "Like I said I don't need her anymore so I see no reason not to." Regina was now freeing herself from Emma's grasp and towards her own mother. "You played me. I thought you loved me. I love you!" She said desperately, tears now clearly streaming down her face. "No, Regina, you don't really love me. I posses your heart that is something differently. You told me before. I have a strong grip on your heart. And luckily for me, I know just what I can do with that." She laughed again before she raised the knife again. Emma jumped forward to grab Regina again but before she really got a hold of her the brunette grabbed the box that was still in Cora's hand. It was so sudden that the older woman didn't have time to respond. As quick as she could Regina pulled out the hard and squeezed down until it turned to ashes. Her mother and the knife dropped down onto the floor. She pulled her gloves off and covered her head in her arms, crying loudly.

Everyone in the room was nailed to the ground, staring in shock of what had just happened. Neal didn't understand a thing given the fact that he was just waking up again. Emma was the one who came to her senses first and walked up to Regina. She hesitated slightly before she pulled her arms around the former-Mayor who after a minute hugged her back and seemed to relax in her arms, even though she kept on sobbing. "You did the right thing, Regina. I'm so proud of you. You were good." She didn't really know what to say but apparently she had chosen the right words because Regina squeezed her harder in return. "Let me get you home." Emma whispered to Regina who nodded in response.

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Later that night, Emma was sitting next to Regina on her couch. It was slightly awkward because neither of them had said much she they had entered the house. Emma had only meant to drop her off but Regina had quietly asked her to stay. The blonde had agreed of course because she felt like Regina needed someone to watch her right now. "I'm so sorry, Emma." A broken voice next to her suddenly said and Emma looked sideways. "For what?" she asked and Regina shrugged. "For everything I did to you and to Henry. I can't even believe why.." Her voice drifter off and she kept quiet before she would start to cry again. She didn't want to seem too weak. "It's okay." Emma said but she was cut off by Regina who had now fully turned to face her. "It's not okay. I tried to kill you today Emma. I was myself again, I was Evil." Emma took one of Regina's hands and stroked it gently. It was pretty hard to ignore the tingle that they both felt when their hands touched but Emma kept talking anyway. "That's not who you are Regina. Your mother just knows how to play you, she knows exactly what to say to make you do things that you don't want to, not really anyways. Like with the dagger. I knew it was a fake because I knew you would never touch that thing. No matter how you acted you are a good person." Regina smiled at the sweetness and surprised herself by hugging the blonde. Emma was surprised too but she was quick to wrap her arms around the still broken woman. "You do know I wasn't actually planning on killing you, right?" Emma asked, not sure if Regina knew that. When the brunette stayed silent she had her answer. She pulled back and looked at the dark eyes of Regina that seemed somewhat better. "Regina.. I would never do that." "Why not?" The other woman interrupted. "It could have saved your whole family and after what I did to you, you had every right to kill me." Emma smiled and slowly moved herself towards Regina. When their lips were only mere inches away from Regina's she looked at the woman's eyes to see any hint of disgust or discomfort. When she didn't see it she moved forward even more until their lips touched.

It was sweet and slow and there was no tongue but Regina had never felt this way before. Emma was so gentle with her and when a hand came to rest on her back she couldn't help but feel happy for just a second. Maybe everything would be alright, as long as she had Emma. As if the blonde had read her mind she pulled back and stared at her.

"I'll always be there to protect you, Regina."

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**reviews make me happy :) **


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